Boutique Jacob Gives Up On Turnaround Efforts, Will Shut All Stores

TORONTO — Womenswear retailer Boutique Jacob Inc. is abandoning its restructuring efforts and closing all its 92 stores in Canada.

The Montreal-based clothing chain says efforts over the last few months to "try to breathe new life into the company'' have failed.

The insolvent retailer has been liquidating inventory at its Canadian stores since filing a proposal to creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act in May.

It says it will proceed with selling all of the remaining merchandise at its stores and online at Jacob.ca.

The company has been under creditor protection since November 2010 when it underwent operational restructuring, which included closing some 50 stores. Jacob was founded in 1977.

Spokeswoman Cristelle Basmaji said the retailer has been working over the past few months to develop a "viable relaunch plan'' and find new financing, but those efforts have failed.

"Unfortunately, the increasingly difficult economic context and the significant decrease in mall traffic weakened the company's fragile financial situation and forced it to close its doors,'' she said in a statement Tuesday.

Like other retailers, Jacob has faced intense competition from other clothiers, particularly international brands like Target, Zara, H&M and Forever 21, all vying for the same market share.